Pro Patria Mori
by RichardBachman420
Summary: This story takes place in 1918, on the advent of American involvement in the First World War. Lori has volunteered to be a nurse on the front lines, and her family worries for her safety, but another member of her family is about to do something far more worrying...


**I presume that Nickelodeon owns the Loud House**

"The mail came! The mail came!" yelled the twins as they ran into the kitchen of the loud house, interrupting the quiet breakfast that the rest of the family had been enjoying. All heads snapped up in unison, and the two young girls had the undivided attention of the whole family.

"There's a letter from Lori!" Lana yelled, barely able to contain her excitement.

Several months ago the news broke that president Wilson had gone to congress to request a declaration of war on the Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, The Ottoman Empire, and Bulgaria. Millions upon million of American boys would soon be boarding ships to bring much needed aid to the weary allied forces of Britain, France, Italy, and Belgium. The whole of the country was whipped up into a patriotic craze. Men enlisted by the tens of thousands, millions of dollars worth of war bonds were sold to an eager public, families planted victory gardens for the war effort, and pro-war propaganda posters could be found in any public place.

The Loud family was not immune to this red, white, and blue frenzy. Lori- the oldest and most serious of her siblings- was always enthusiastic about contributing to the war effort, she always observed her meatless Mondays and her Wheatless Wednesdays, but when her beloved Bobby enlisted in the 32nd Michigan Infantry Division, Lori felt that she needed to do more.

So, without much consideration, Lori abandoned her studies at school and joined up with the Red Cross, she was going to be a front line nurse, providing aid and care for America's brave young men in uniform. Less than a week after signing up, Lori boarded a Train headed for New York, where she would then board a ship headed for France- as a teary eyed Loud family waved her good bye.

"Give it here Lana" said Mr. Loud "I'll read it aloud to everyone."

After handing the letter to her father, Lana sat down at the table, and the rest of the Loud kids fell silent, eager to hear from their older sister.

"My dearest family" Mr. Loud began "I hope that you are all doing well, and I hope that you aren't worrying about me too much. The other nurses and I arrived in Alsace two days ago, and things here are quite different from how the posters and films described the war. The town of Alsace is in a state of complete and utter destruction, German artillery has blown to pieces many of the buildings, and there are piles of brick and rubble has high as twelve feet! Our men arrived shortly before us and are still in good spirits, I've even gotten the chance to spend a couple of hours with Bobby! But there is a massive amount of work to be done and I seldom have the free time to chat with my love. The Germans have mounted a small offensive against our trench-line, and literally hundreds of injured French and British troops are brought in every day. The state of those injured is literally terrible, they are filthy from the mud in the trenches, and most of them have been sick for weeks. You'd think that most of them suffered from gunshot wounds, but in actuality, it's the gas that does the most harm. The Germans use poisoned gas to try to clear out the trenches, and these gas wounds are very hard to treat. When I have the time, I try to walk out into the countryside, away from the war, to appreciate the beauty of the landscape, but the din of artillery is literally omnipresent. This all sounds rather depressing, but I assure you that Bobby and I are in the best of spirits and health! I love you all very much, and I'm excited to hear your response! -Lori Loud, February 6th, 1918." Mr. Loud exhaled heavily.

"Wow! France sounds scary!" Lana exclaimed, breaking the silence of her other siblings.

"I bet Lori isn't sacred at all" replied Lola, "She's like, super brave."

"It's not fair!" yelled Leni over the rest of her chattering siblings, who all stopped at her sudden outburst. "Why does Lori get to go on a vacation to France, but I have to stay in boring old Michigan?"

The family collectively facepalmed and returned to discussing the contents of Lori's letter.

Lincon, however, remained silent. He sat back in his chair and thought inwardly about the letter from his big sister. "Hmmm" he thought, thinking back to a poster he saw outside his school. More specifically, to the Latin phrase that was in big white letters on the bottom. "pro patria" he thought to himself, a plan forming in his brain, "pro patria indeed."


End file.
